1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to furniture units and, more specifically, to such units which are used as partitions or wall units, or as part of a desk, cabinet, or shelving unit.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Free standing furniture units are well known in the art. Such units typically have been constructed so that the central panel or surface of the unit forms an integral part of the overall unit, and insertion or removal of the panel requires disassembly of the unit. This limits the versatility of the units for a number of reasons. For example, difficulty in exchanging panel units discourages modifications of existing assembled units to vary esthetic appearance of the units, and also complicates and makes more expensive the interchange of functional panels as, for example, in such units that are used for portions of desks, wall cabinets and shelving units. Clearly it is advantageous to provide a furniture unit wherein the panel is not a load bearing element of the unit in order to simplify construction of the overall unit and to simplify interchange ability of panels during construction and by the purchaser of the units.